And now for your reading pleasure, a band that I can be certain that 99% of you will not have heard of…Augustana…with their debut album “All The Stars And Boulevards.”
Released on Epic Records in 2005, this quartet are, by first listen anyway, the nearest style the Americans have to a “Brit-pop” band…but saying that means they are nothing like Oasis/Blur/Suede/Pulp/Supergrass etc. Instead they represent a slightly pessimistic view on life…the fact that Americans only sing about the bad times shows they are oh so miserable people!!
Opening track “Mayfield” shares a sound not to far away from the likes of Snow Patrol, Train or Mercury Rev from this side of the ‘pond’ if you will – there you go, you’ll feel as if you’ve known this band for years now! A loud, vibrant voice from vocalist Dan Layus on top of progressive rock music, that after dying down with about 45 seconds to go, bursts into a cressendo for the final 25. An effect that is by no means original, but damn effective in many people’s eyes, or perhaps
‘ears’ should be more appropriate?
“Bullets” is a stand-out track on the album, and certainly one for those people looking to download something by them (legally of course!) – bursting with life, if seems to steer clear of this pessimistic viewpoint I mentioned earlier on, however the lyrics have an underlying theme of drinking the night away, thinking about a ‘lost love’ or words to that effect.
The fourth track on the album shows even more similarities to the likes of Mercury Rev and Train; using a piano to set the rhythm, whilst eventually introducing drums and guitars later on, allowing it to slowly but surely burst into life, and eventually dying down once we’ve all been worn out, in a good way I should reiterate.
Title track “Stars and Boulevards” was the first song I’d heard by the band whilst skimming through MTV2 one lazy afternoon. My instant reaction was an American Snow Patrol was being paraded around. However that still enticed me into listening, and I’m certainly glad I did. The style is of course similar to the previous tracks you’ve already gone through, however the rhythm and tempo just seem to standout a little bit more here – this and “Bullets” are certainly ones to test the water with.
Also, yet again the lyrics seem to focus on one core subject matter – “I fear sunrise will come too soon and you’ll disappear; into the haze of this city and go south” – “late nights won’t do me justice; case when I drink I just get so damn depressed” – yes, the story of life’s lost love. The odd imaginative person will discredit them here for lacking some subject matter, however the lyrics are well written and thought out…not just a bunch of words strung together that seem very ambiguous when you hear them, and even more so when you read them – without trying to single them out, I’m talking Coldplay here.
Unfortunately, having listened to the album a few times now, after “Stars and Boulevards”, the rest of the album does struggle to reach the dizzying heights of beforehand. My argument here is that the standard of the opening 5 tracks is exemplary, and to keep up this effort for all 11 tracks would have meant far more people would have heard of them by now.
For those in need of wanting to know what the rest of it’s like…tracks “Lonely People” and “Sunday Best” still are admirable efforts and definitely worth a listen. However tracks such as “Coffee and Cigarettes” is just one of those songs that a number of ‘4-star’ albums have but ‘5-star’ ones don’t – just meandering about not going anywhere and just an obvious wind-down from the rest of the album.
I’ve drawn similaries to as many British bands I can think of, but if you want an example of what North American bands they replicate then the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls meets 3 Doors Down meets Bright Eyes could be a worthwhile comparison…if a somewhat interesting one.
You can pick the album up off Amazon for £9.98…not the cheapest CD available out there nowadays, however you can get it in the “used and new” section for a mere £3.91 at the moment – now that’s a bargain!
So, there you have it. If you do one thing today and want it be along the lines of finding a new band out there, give Augustana a go. There’s enough bands out there that are similar to them…but maybe that’s their problem, they’re too much like other bands to break the market. Shame, you may just like them.
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